Declawing and devocalization: What pet owners think

You already know that declawing and devocalization procedures are controversial among people in the veterinary industry. Here’s what pet owners think: Nearly 60 percent of American pet owners say it’s OK to have a cat declawed, but only 8 percent approve of having a dog’s vocal cords removed, according to an Associated Press/Petside.com poll. Forty-seven percent of cat owners would favor a law making declaw procedures illegal, while 44 percent would oppose a law against declawing procedures.

Of dog owners who took part in the poll, only 1 percent reported having a devocalization procedure done on their pet. There was no difference between dog owners and others who were asked if it was OK—89 percent of respondents who own dogs were against the procedure.

Thirty-two percent of cat owners polled have had their pets declawed. Just over a third—36 percent—of all pet owners said declawing was not OK, but only 18 percent say they would favor a law making the procedure illegal. Sixty percent of all pet owners would oppose a law banning declawing. However, cat owners are more apt than others to favor a law banning the declawing of cats—24 percent favor such a law, 16 percent favor it strongly.